Not Just Another Flower
by HoodedSpellcaster
Summary: Severus' reason for coming to the Death Eater gatherings isn't rational. And Lucius is okay with it. / Snarcissa.


**QLFC Round 1 – Getting to Know Our Team-Mates**

Pairing: Severus Snape/Narcissa Malfoy

Chaser 3 Prompt: Write about your team's Beater 1's OTP or favourite character.

Other Prompts:

4\. (poem) 'Hour' by Carol Ann Duffy

11\. (song) 'Fever' by Peggy Lee

13\. (restriction) no dialogue

**A/N and warnings:** I got to write 'bout Snapey and Cissa (I had never written Snarcissa before so Ciara please don't hate me ; 3 ;) but I'm always open for new ships to write. But writing a fic with no dialogue? Yes, with no dialogue. Why the hell did I pick that prompt?! Yes, Jordi, I'm apparently a masochist.

Snarcissa, Severus's POV, Marauder's Era but set after they've graduated from Hogwarts, Pre-Prophecy, kind-of-an-AU-since-Snapey-doesn't-obsess-over-Lily-Evans, one-sided Snily in the past if you see it that way, mentions of other Death Eaters, established background Lucissa marriage, Aromantic!Lucius who is protective of Narcissa and still fine with Severus liking Narcissa.

* * *

'_We find an hour together, spend it not on flowers or wine, but the whole of the summer sky and a grass ditch.'_

– from the poem 'Hour' by Carol Ann Duffy

* * *

**Not Just Another Flower**

There are reasons for everything, but some reasons are just more rational than the others. I keep reminding myself of that but the thought keeps escaping my mind.

I'm not a rational person.

The Manor is just the exterior of the Malfoy family's prosperity.

A purely political marriage, they both say. I believe they mean it, too. Their families are so high up in the wizarding society. It had been only natural Abraxas Malfoy and Cygnus Black hadn't asked their opinions about the union. I've never seen Lucius and Narcissa look purely happy with each other after they got married. They don't hold hands, they don't kiss. It's like they just happen to be at the same place at the same time. Complete strangers tied together by a string they can't cut.

I stare at the door for a small eternity. I'm invited but I'm also late. I shouldn't be so restless but my hands won't stop shaking.

Rodolphus opens the door. His eyes widen momentarily but the confused look disappears as quickly as it appeared. He stays quiet but lets me in without a question. I don't think Lucius told him I was coming. It doesn't surprise me when Rodolphus abandons me as soon as we step into the living room. Seven years sharing a dorm and I don't remember him speaking to me in full sentences.

I look around the room. So many familiar faces, faces I don't really care to see. Most of them I know from Hogwarts – Rosier, Avery and Mulciber stand as a group. Wilkes isn't with them but if the rumours are true he's getting married soon so I'm not surprised by his absence. I notice Walden Macnair further away from them. Why he has been invited I don't take a side.

My eyes flicker to Regulus Black, Barty Crouch, and Rabastan Lestrange… They are all just school children. Lucius is taking a risk by inviting them now that they still don't have marks. I know Rodolphus takes full responsibility of Rabastan but I have my suspicions about the other two.

I'm not alone with my thoughts for long. Lucius himself comes to greet me with open arms and offers me a glass of wine. I accept the drink and Lucius smiles. He's handsome and polite, a complete opposite of taciturn Rodolphus who is rough around the edges. But on the inside Lucius isn't any better than Rodolphus. He's cold as _ice_.

_It's always so nice to have you here, Severus_.

He has a slick tongue; a habit of saying what people want to hear. He wasn't a Prefect for no reason. He was a sticker to the rules when they pleased him and he knew how to evade the ones that he found displeasing. He knows how to tie people around his fingers. His family is influential. He is calm and collected but passionate of pureblood supremacy.

Those traits have earned him a high spot in the ranks of Death Eaters.

There was a time I wanted to be like Lucius. My decision to become a Death Eater sprouted around that time. It happened a long time ago and came with a price. It cost me one friend I loved dearly.

And gave me another.

Narcissa is there, standing next to the wall. She's always present when the Death Eaters gather even though she isn't one herself. She's too pure to be one. Now she looks almost bored. She almost camouflages with the wallpaper but I find her stunning as ever. Her long blonde hair cascades down her back, making a stark contrast to her dark dress. She's talking with her sister. Seems like Bellatrix has been drinking like a sponge; she cackles madly and clings on Narcissa as she can barely stand at all.

I stare at Narcissa. She moves elegantly, holding her sister's weight and yet standing tall as if Bellatrix doesn't affect her balance at all. Her every movement is effortless and graceful, and flawless. Her eyes light up and she holds my gaze briefly before turning back to Bellatrix. There is the slightest hint of a bashful smile on her face. I release the breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

Lucius raises a brow. He looks unimpressed but that's just because he knows. _He just doesn't care_.

Narcissa says something to her sister and friends and leaves the room. The door closes without a sound. I sigh. So I didn't get to speak with her after all.

There is a change in the air and I glance at Lucius. His ice cold eyes, feeling as though they were staring right at my soul, have this malicious glint in them. A smirk splits his face. His words are chilly and they drop from his tongue like drops of acid.

_Don't disappoint her._

The smile Lucius shows after is charming and he even pats my shoulder reassuringly before he leaves to deal with the other guests. He sure can be scary and bipolar. I smile faintly. But it's only when it comes to Narcissa. He's protective of her; they are married after all, even if it's just to please their parents.

But if Lucius is mostly nonchalant about me being here, Rodolphus openly hates my presence. He hates half the people Lucius invites over and I'm on top of that list. I pass him and Amicus when I exit the room. Amicus laughs at something but Rodolphus furrows his brows at me. He knows what's going on between me and Narcissa and it doesn't please him. He thinks it brings dishonour to the entire concept of pureblood marriages.

The corridor is silent and only the echo of my steps is there to fill my ears.

The door to Narcissa's personal room is open and I step in. She sits on the edge of the bed with her hand on her knees and smiles. I close the door behind myself and stop in front of her. She stands up and embraces me tightly, whispering sweet words in my ear. So she had waited for me. I breathe in her sweet scent. Her words delight me. Narcissa's fingers tangle in my hair. She tugs slightly and giggles at my expression. I run my hand up under her dress and she gasps. She is frail and soft, so soft to touch.

_My mother told me to beware the silent ones._

It's been six years and I still have nothing to offer her. I'm not wealthy like Lucius. I'm not a pureblood. Her parents would never accept me. But she smiles so brightly every time a chance appears for us to spend an hour or two together. Her smile is the most beautiful thing in my world, and if my life is like the long and dark winter, she is the fleeting moment of short and vibrant spring that keeps me going forward on this path I've chosen.

Her lips are soft against mine. They speak my name.

And I'm in love with the most radiant flower under the sun and the summer sky.

* * *

"_Sun lights up the day time_

_Moon lights up the night_

_I light up when you call my name_

_And you know I'm gonna treat you right_

_You give me fever when you kiss me_

_Fever when you hold me tight_

_Fever in the mornin'_

_Fever all through the night"_

– '_Fever_' by Peggy Lee

* * *

A/N: And now that I've finished this I realize I could have written a letter… :'D


End file.
